UCLA wide receiver Devin Fuller pulls in a pass from quarterback Brett Hundley and goes on to score a touchdown against Colorado in the first quarter. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA linebacker Cameron Judge hits Colorado's Ryan Severson to force a fumble that was recovered by the Bruins in the second quarter. The Bruins capitalized on the play and later scored a touchdown. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, left, breaks up a pass intended for Colorado running back Tony Jones in the first quarter Saturday. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA wide receiver Devin Fuller, right, and Grayson Mazzone celebrate in the end zone after Fuller score on a 76-yard pass play in the first quarter against Colorado. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Colorado defensive back Greg Henderson breaks up a pass intended for UCLA wide receiver Shaquelle Evans, left, in the early in the third quarter. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA running back Damien Thigpen breaks through the Colorado defense to score a touchdown in the third quarter of Saturday's game. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA running back Damien Thigpen, right, gets a hug from center Scott Quessenberry after Thigpen scored a touchdown in the third quarter against Colorado. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA running back Damien Thigpen breaks for a big gain in the fourth quarter against Colorado to set up a Bruin touchdown. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA wide receiver Devin Fuller drags a Colorado defender as he crosses the goal line for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley takes the ball for a quarterback keeper in the third quarter against Colorado Saturday. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UCLA running back Paul Perkins dives for some extra yardage against Colorado for a 26-yard run in Saturday's game. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

PASADENA – Fresh off two tough road losses where its offense was stifled, UCLA came into Saturday’s matchup with Pac-12 bottom feeder Colorado in desperate need of spark.

It took almost a full quarter for the Bruins to emerge from their two-week snooze. They started the game with just 16 yards on back-to-back three-and-outs. And as UCLA opened up its third drive with a stuffed run up the middle, boos rained down on the Rose Bowl, as frustrations over conservative play calling bubbled over.

“Finally, I said, ‘(Forget) it man. Just sling it down the field,’” offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said.

And on the next play, sling it they did, as quarterback Brett Hundley – who threw for just 64 yards last week against Oregon – launched a deep throw down the sideline to wideout Devin Fuller, who caught the bomb in stride, shook a defender, and stepped into the end zone for a 76-yard touchdown – UCLA’s longest play of the season.

It was the kind of play that UCLA’s offense desperately needed. And with a new spring in its step, UCLA powered through an otherwise forgettable performance with a few more big plays on its way to a 45-23 victory over Colorado.

“It sure as hell made me feel better,” Mazzone said of Fuller’s touchdown. “It was like, ‘Whew, we can take a breath, get things going.’”

A cold start quickly gave way to the UCLA offense of old, as the Bruins found their rhythm on the next two drives with back-to-back touchdowns – the first, thanks to a long drive orchestrated by Hundley, and the second, stemming from a forced fumble by freshman Cameron Judge on Colorado’s ensuing kickoff return.

UCLA’s offense began to find the rhythm as Hundley seemed to revert back to the form that had once made him one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. After running for a touchdown on a wide-open quarterback draw, Hundley connected again with Fuller on a 6-yard score – his second of three touchdowns – to give UCLA a 21-10 lead.

Colorado, whose offense gave UCLA’s defense more fits than it probably should have, pulled to one score behind with a field goal on the next drive. But again, it was Hundley who sparked UCLA’s offense, leading a rhythmic 12-play, 70-yard drive, which ended in him calling his own number on a read option. The touchdown gave UCLA a two-touchdown lead it never relinquished.

After two weeks of frustrating play from its sophomore quarterback, UCLA relied heavily on Hundley throughout Saturday’s game, as its running backs struggled to find any room to run. While the Bruins’ backs accounted for just 33 yards on 15 carries, Hundley led the team in rushing (11 carries, 72 yards, two touchdowns) and completed 19 of 24 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns.

It was a performance that perhaps no one needed more than Hundley himself.

“The kid has looked burdened the last two weeks,” Mora said. “He didn’t look burdened tonight. … I thought Brett exhaled a little bit. I saw it during the week. He didn’t have so much tension in the way he was approaching things.”

UCLA’s entire offense seemed to exhale with Hundley back to his old ways. But the Bruins certainly benefited from playing the Pac-12’s second-worst defense, a unit that ranked 108th in the nation in pass defense. Still, any sign of being back to normal was a positive for the Bruins, who’d been shut down in consecutive games against the conference’s elite.

It was far from a perfect team effort though, as defensive miscues allowed the Buffaloes’ pedestrian offense to accrue 25 first downs and 371 total yards. Freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau routinely picked apart the Bruins’ secondary, completing 25 of 36 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown. And up front, UCLA rarely got any push on Colorado's offensive line, stopping Colorado behind the line of scrimmage on just three occasions.

“It just didn’t seem like us for the vast majority of the night,” linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “We weren’t running around and hitting and playing with the energy that we have the last couple weeks. We have to find any way that we can to recapture that.”

For one night though, recapturing UCLA’s offensive magic was enough to leave the Rose Bowl with an important bounce-back victory.

“We actually had a few explosive plays tonight, which was fun,” Mazzone said. “It felt like the old days.”

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